In this chaotic world, it all started when they found an elf girl

　"Sprout of Justice, I never expected you to be connected with those monsters. It really surprises me."

　Dix was also staring at Roy, a sinister smile playing on his lips. He didn't want to become a tool for the gods' amusement; his battle was his own decision. All eyes were on Roy.

　Dix said, "Targeting the same group of prey, it seems you're also quite interested in those monsters!"

　Roy chuckled, "Whether it's human or monster, to be honest, I don't care. Are you really that concerned about appearances?" This dispute arose because Roy killed a member of the Ikelos Familia. Goddess Astraea and Ryu didn't know what had happened; they simply believed that Roy wouldn't kill someone without a reason.

　Their cryptic conversation made them realize that things weren't so simple.

　"I see!"

　Dix suddenly realized what kind of person Roy was, and that he was different from him.

　All he wanted to hear were the wails of those monsters!

　“Forget it, if I don’t get rid of you, all those bastards under my command will rebel. Just accept your fate. This world only needs one savage who defies fate, me,” Dix said.

　Dix stepped forward, carrying a blood-red spear. "I'm the first to fight, LV.5!!"

　really!

　Among the Astrea Familia, only Ryu, at level 5, meets the requirements for accepting the challenge.

　Liu walked out, holding the ethereal light.

　Everyone retreated until they were about seventy or eighty meters away. A battle between level 5 adventurers was not something these small fry could easily interfere with. Cassandra, at the back of the group, trembled; the contents of her dream were becoming increasingly clear.

　"A thousand-year curse, etched in blood, transformed into a heart of rage. O serpent, rising up, you will devour justice, drag it into the abyss. The light of the broken blade is both hope and a gateway to despair..."

　Cassandra's pupils dilated in shock. At that moment, she finally understood why she couldn't decipher the "prophetic dream" she'd had with Roy that day. The dream had been reversed!

　This is only the first half of the prophecy!

Chapter 159 Battle at Level 5

　Orario, Underground Passage.

　In the spacious open space cleared by the crowd, Ryu and Dix walked toward each other and stopped five meters apart.

　“Swiftwind, I’m getting sick of hearing your name lately,” Dix said.

　Roy and Ryu are undoubtedly among the most prominent adventurers in Orario over the past six months, having wiped out multiple Familias and broken records. If it weren't for the "Berserker" who suppressed the Freya Familia, the title "one of" would be removed.

　The strongest LV.7 adventurer is too dazzling.

　Even now, people are still searching for each other.

　"Brutal barbarian, I haven't really heard of you before," said Liu, who was as cold as an ice queen.

　That's truly your misfortune!

　Dix was not angry at all; on the contrary, he was happy. Not having heard much about him meant that the other party did not know his information. Wasn't that a good thing? Under everyone's watchful eyes, the battle between Ryu and Dix, two LV.5 adventurers, was about to break out.

　Suddenly, a loud explosion ripped through the air!

　Dix took a single step forward, his figure carrying immense momentum, forcefully smashing through layers of darkness, charging straight towards them like a tumbling boulder. His blood-red spear brought with it a muffled whistling wind; even before the spear arrived, the fierce gust of wind pressed down first, causing Liu's cloak to flutter wildly, and the water beneath his feet to ripple.

　The spear tip transformed into a streak of blood-red light, like a crimson lightning bolt piercing through the twilight, aiming for Liu's head.

　Liu's figure swayed slightly, like a green bamboo leaf startled by a strong wind, drifting away lightly.

　With a flick of his elven sword, he delivered a silent strike at the last second, not as a direct hit, but with an incredibly light touch, placing the tip of the sword against the heavy spear's spine. With just a slight movement, a sharp "clang" rang out, and the razor-sharp blade grazed past him, deflecting the incoming crimson spear and sending it crashing heavily into the ground to Dix's left.

　boom!

　With a deafening roar, the water surface and floor that were touched by the gun tip shattered, and debris shot out like a torrential rain!

　It left behind a crater more than ten meters deep.

　The two figures shot out so fast that their movements were barely visible to the naked eye.

　Clang! Clang! Clang!

　The weapons were wielded like a storm, countless afterimages intertwined, sparks exploded, and the crisp sound of metal clashing echoed continuously and clearly in this silent underground passage.

　This is the power of a LV.5 adventurer!

　Both have entered the realm of the non-human.

　Even an army of thousands of ordinary people is nothing more than clay chickens and earthen dogs in front of them.

　Sword blades and spear tips clashed with a resounding clang! A clear dragon's roar and a deep tiger's howl collided violently, piercingly loud. Sparks flew in the dim underground passage, mingling with blue and gold, instantly illuminating two faces.

　Liu was as still as an ancient well, while Dix's eyes were bloodshot, as if a terrifying poisonous flame was burning inside.

　As the battle intensified, Ryū gradually fell into a disadvantageous position.

　Simply put, Dix has higher stats and has been using man-made mazes to capture monsters in dungeons for years, so he is more experienced and skilled.

　There's no reason why they can't suppress Ryu, who recently upgraded.

　"Commander, take her down!"

　"Dix, if you lose, we won't let you off the hook!"

　The members of the Ikeros Familia shouted and clamored.

　"Miss Ryu won't lose!" Daphne said with a worried expression, clenching her fists. All of her skills were taught to her by Ryu herself. To her, Ryu was both a teacher and a friend, and she was more nervous than anyone else at this moment.

　Cassandra murmured, interpreting the "prophetic dream".

　The goddess Astraea stared at Ikeros, vaguely sensing something unusual.

　Roy also focused most of his attention on the duel.

　Ikeros and Dix probably thought they could defeat them through a duel, unaware that this rule was also extremely advantageous to him and Ryu. It was two against one!

　Synchronization Contract!

　Roy's mind stirred, and he activated the power of the contract.

　Ryu, who was in the midst of a fierce battle, glanced at Roy without leaving a trace, and finally accepted the connection.

　In a normal duel, Ryu might not care about winning or losing, but if she lost now, it could cause her clan to suffer significant losses. Roy, clutching his kidney, felt his stats drop by 30% during the Synchro Contract activation, as if his body had been hollowed out, experiencing a kind of kidney deficiency. Ryu, on the other hand, was experiencing the complete opposite.

　Having received Roy's power, new strength surged within Liu's petite body.

　Liu Tian's blue eyes flashed as his original overall (I) ability value was upgraded to E level.

　Her aura underwent a dramatic change; the increase was enormous, the result of two or three years of hard work. Ryu was utterly astonished that Roy, at LV.3, could provide her with such a terrifying boost.

　This suggests that Roy's stats have likely exceeded their limits with each level up, and right now.

　The boy's talent was enough, no, even surpassed that of the witch Alphia she had encountered two years ago, and Ryu was deeply shocked. Ryu composed herself; her current priority was to protect her fellow members of the Familia and prevent anyone from harming Roy.

　With her belief and ability stats boosted, Ryu switched from defense to offense, and her fierce attack instantly startled Dix.

　Liu's wooden sword, with its wild and unrestrained aura like a mad tiger, crisscrossed the floor within several feet, causing it to groan under its weight and instantly become covered with deep scratches. The raging sword shadows seemed to transform into an elusive stream of light, forcing Dix to retreat.

　The blade flashed and flickered, like a serpent emerging from its hole.

　Each thrust was precisely aimed at Dix, and although the tiny, hair-like flaws in his opponent did not cause serious injury, they left long, narrow tears in his light, tight-fitting clothes, from which blood seeped.

　In the heat of battle, Dix finally realized something was wrong: "Your stats are higher than mine?"

　As soon as this statement came out, the whole place was in an uproar.

　But they couldn't fathom the existence of something as wondrous as "Synchronization Contracts"; they simply assumed that Ryu possessed some special skill that boosted her stats. That's Orario for you—it's never short of geniuses!

　With higher stats, Ryu began chanting as she attacked, "The forest and sky that have now faded into the distance. The endless night sky inlaid with countless stars!"

　Upon seeing Ryu's incredibly fast parallel chanting, Dix was undoubtedly startled and became extremely agitated.

　Once the magic is unleashed, the outcome of the battle will be decided in an instant!

　"Don't even think about it!"

　Dix roared and unleashed all his strength. His blood-red spear, with a roar that seemed to split mountains and shatter rocks, shot out like a dragon, aiming to pierce through Liu! Wherever the spear tip passed, deep trenches were plowed into the ground.

　Just as the spear was about to strike her body, Liu sighed softly, a cold, sharp light flashing in her eyes.

　With a light touch of her toes, her body moved forward instead of backward, like a weightless willow leaf, drifting towards the destructive crimson spear. Lord of Thunder!

　Ryu then used Roy's incantationless magic.

　Golden lightning crackled around the wooden sword, which then stabbed fiercely at the incoming spear tip, their sharp edges clashing.

Chapter 160 Dix's Defeat

　boom! !

　The wooden sword and the crimson spear clashed, meeting head-on. The terrifying force of their impact caused the surrounding floor to cave in deeply, and water to explode. Accompanied by a crackling sound of electricity, the golden lightning on the wooden sword seemed to transform into ferocious electric snakes, crawling onto Dix's body and tearing at him wildly. "Hiss!"

　Dix gasped, but as expected of a LV.5 adventurer, he was tough and resilient; the electric shock and pain didn't bring him down. Instead, it ignited the ferocity within him.

　His already crimson eyes flashed with an eerie blood-red light. Dix's muscles tensed, and he poured all his power into the blood-red spear, thrusting it forward with a snap!

　The blades met, the crimson spear's edge piercing the wooden sword with a soft sound.

　A crack appeared at the end of the wooden sword (Elf Stream) in Liu's hand, sending wood chips flying, until with a "bang," the entire wooden sword shattered. "I won!"

　Dix's lips curled up, and his blood-red spear continued its relentless thrust, aiming to kill Liu in one blow.

　He was completely oblivious to Liu's calm gaze.

　In the nick of time, Liu's small, swift figure shrunk down, dodging the blood-red spear, and appeared in front of Dix. Before his terrified eyes, Liu clenched her small fist and slammed it into Dix's abdomen, sending him flying.

　boom!

　Dix's body flew backward at incredible speed, crashing heavily into the supporting stone pillar, embedding itself in it in a starfish shape. The terrifying impact nearly shattered the pillar.

　Dix fell to the ground, lying there like a dead dog, completely paralyzed and unable to move.

　If Ryuna's punch had hit his heart, it would have been enough to kill him, but it only struck his lungs. Even so, Dix felt like he wanted to die. A deadly sense of suffocation enveloped him.

　"You've lost!" Liu said calmly. Adventurers always become careless when they are certain of victory.

　It all comes down to who stays calmer.

　"That spell is a silent lightning spell, the nascent power of justice! Why can you use it?!" Dix's ferocious gaze glared at Ryu. He interrupted Ryu's spell, but unexpectedly, Ryu pulled out Roy's spell in return.

　Without any chanting, it unleashed an overwhelming level of darkness!

　When a normal spell is chanted, it serves as a subtle reminder to the enemy that a powerful, wide-ranging attack is imminent.

　Uncastable magic, however, comes without warning and has the effect of killing on first encounter; whoever faces it for the first time will be caught off guard and suffer a great loss. "I have no need to answer you."

　Ryu returned to her previous spot, collecting the broken fragments of the elven light. A hint of heartache flashed in her eyes; this weapon had been with her for over two years. Roy stepped forward, "Miss Ryu, thank you for your hard work!"

　Astraea, Daphne, and Cassandra followed and helped Ryu pick up the wooden sword fragments. After all, it was a level 2 weapon (lower limit: high-level, upper limit: epic), and these fragments could still be recycled.

　Meanwhile, the members of the Ikeros Familia looked on in disbelief. Dix had been defeated!

　Dix reached LV.5 after the great struggle two years ago. His accumulated ability points over those two years are definitely higher than those of Ryu, who just upgraded to LV.5. How could he lose? How could he possibly lose!

　This battle concerns the interests of everyone!

　While picking up the fragments, Roy noticed a slight tremor in Ryu's small hands and immediately understood.

　Dix's final shot shattered the elven light but also inflicted considerable damage. While she appeared unharmed, her bones were actually fractured. Defeating adventurers of the same level is no easy feat. Until now, Roy had only achieved invincibility at his level through sheer numerical superiority. Once that numerical advantage is lost, injury is inevitable. In battles between equals, never expect to defeat your opponent without taking damage. Everyone is forged in the dungeons; none are inherently inferior to the other.

　"A song of the distant forest, a melody of life from the past. Bestow healing mercy upon those who seek you, Noah heals!" Roy chanted.

　At the moment of completion, a vibrant, evil emerald-green light descended upon Ryu.

　"What are you doing?!"

　Liu Xiao's face lit up with surprise, and she stared at Roy.

　The second battle is about to begin. It can't be those two little girls, Daphne and Cassandra. It will definitely be Roy who goes on stage. Is he expending his mental energy before the battle because he thinks he has too much mental energy?

　Roy shook his head and didn't answer. They were too naive. Did they really think that if they won the so-called duel, the Ikelos Familia would say, "Okay, okay, from now on we'll keep to ourselves and never see each other again"?

　Maintaining your own physical condition is the most important thing.

　Noah's healing effects gradually became apparent; Liu's little hands stopped trembling and recovered considerably.

　Having done all this, Roy stood up and went to the open space. "God Ikelos, I'll take the second round."

　Ikeros showed no surprise.

　"Young Hans, it's your turn to play."

　Ikelos called out, and from among the Ikelos Familia, a middle-aged man with an ordinary appearance stepped out. He was expressionless, with grayish-white muscles, cracked lips, and lifeless eyes, looking no different from a zombie.